ostensible

[o-sten-suh-buhl]

adjective

1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended.

   an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.

2. Rare.,  apparent, evident, or conspicuous.

   the ostensible truth of their theories.

ostensible

/ ɒˈstɛnsɪbəl /

adjective

1. apparent; seeming

2. pretended

Other Word Forms

• ostensibly adverb
• nonostensible adjective
• unostensible adjective
• ostensibility noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ostensible¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from French, from Latin ostēns(us) , variant of ostentus ( ostensive ) + French -ible -ible

Word History and Origins

Origin of ostensible¹

C18: via French from Medieval Latin ostensibilis, from Latin ostendere to show, from ob- before + tendere to extend

Example Sentences

Mortgage math: As an ostensible solution to the diminishing affordability of home ownership, the administration advanced the idea of giving homebuyers the option of 50-year mortgages.

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But notes of disillusion sound throughout this ostensible success story.

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The Monday summit also revealed that Putin’s ostensible concession at the Alaska summit to agree to international security guarantees for Ukraine is a poisoned chalice.

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The White House’s pressure on American institutions of higher education is effecting collateral damage on a host of its ostensible allies, Malaysia included.

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All of the growth coming, as Russell notes, detention and deportation being shown to be ineffective at the administration’s ostensible goal of reducing crime.

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Related Words

• avowed 
• plausible 
• professed 
• purported